Our Final Week in Kampong Thom

Signs of a storm on its way

Our last week here in Kampong Thom has been filled with many last minute tasks, visits and activities.

Pastor Sothy outside his home

Sunday, after our good-byes at the church, one of the Pastors invited the ten of us to his home for supper. We took fruit and cookies (a rare treat for them) as our contribution, and were humbled by the way Sothy and his wife and two children live. We had to go early enough to be done before dark, as they do not have any electricity. Plus we were warned ahead of time that they do not have a toilet. We sat on the floor and enjoyed their gracious hospitality, trying not to eat too much so they would have some left for the next day. Although, I personally do not like the idea of leftovers that have not been refrigerated.

Sharing their meal

"Farmed" Cocoons

Monday, for a bit of an outing, five of us caught a tuk-tuk to the Silk Farm about 30 kms away. We were treated to a free personal tour of the process from mating the silk worms right through to pulling the silk off the cocoon (photo below), dying the silk, and weaving scarves. Very interesting how they work without electricity. It's all done by hand (and foot) and open fires. A delicacy for them is to eat the silk worm from the cocoon after removing all of the silk, and of course, we were offered one. I felt especially adventurous that day (it had been boiled within the cocoon, after all). It's sort of like a peanut with squishy stuff in the middle.

Nancy tried the worm first

Tuesday was the highlight of the week for me. We had a Baptism for some of those who have become Christians since our arrival. We travelled about 40 kms to a lake and gave a lesson confirming why they were making this public declaration, then Pastor Sokun and Peter went into the lake with each of them. Narith, the young man from our guesthouse was one of the people there. I had the honour of going into the lake and praying for him and assisting with his Baptism. I must admit, I was a little nervous being in unfamiliar water that was murky and brown. Every time I felt something on my leg, I had to force myself not to let out a panicked scream. Then, everyone stayed at the lake for a few hours for fellowship and a picnic, and naps.

Pastor Sokun and I with Narith

Prayer, Baptism Celebration & Fellowship

The seven who were Baptised

Tuesday afternoon, we went to the Dedication for the new church/schoolhouse/Bible

study structure we had built. We were very encouraged by the fact that two of the neighbouring village Chiefs and one Assistant Chief were there, two of whom are not Christians but who spoke about what they were seeing as a result of our faith. As well, the children were excited to be there as well. Proves that if you build it, they will come. It's incredible to think that from idea to dedication, this project only took 10 days - at home, there would have been committees, permits, politics, etc before we could even start.

Cambodia's future generation

Wednesday, we did evangelising in the morning and school in the afternoon. Some of our team stayed behind and cooked Indian Curry (Sasi is from Malaysia) for our host pastors and their families. I missed out on the adventure of trying to cook dinner in a Cambodian kitchen without the comforts of home, including no fridge, no stove, no running water. I did help out with making the mock "pizza" appetizers, which meant using a ceramic tile over an open fire and covering the bread and cheese with a large metal pan to trap the heat in an effort to melt the cheese. Our Cambodian friends served "Cow Goes Up Fiery Mountain", which is thin slices of beef that you capture with chopsticks, dip in oil and cook on an open-flamed cone-shaped grill. Then you dip the cooked pieces in a sauce made of garlic, pepper, lemon juice (think fondue). Yummy! We had arranged for a couple of large cakes, which went fast - they don't eat sweets often (too expensive) but love them.

Then we presented them with gifts for their church, including new chairs, new tables, Bibles, and 50 pair of reading glasses (a major need over here), and books, games, teaching aids for the children. We were all a little emotional, as we have spent almost two months together spreading the Gospel and even seeing the fruit of it!

Thursday, half of our team left for a two-day sightseeing trip to Siam Reap. Those of us who stayed behind went to Narith's home to pray for him and his family (photo on left). He has been asking me for weeks to come and visit, and there just hasn't been an opportunity. I'm not sure who was blessed more by the visit, but I think it might have been us! The other neat thing is that Narith has dreams of becoming a Pastor and building and developing a school, so we have encouraged a relationship between he and Pastor Sokun.

Narith's son JiYun bringing refreshments (a coconut)

Now, we are preparing for our bus trip on Friday to go to Phnom Penh where we will meet up with our classmates who have been in Sihanoukville while we've been in Kampong Thom. We are very much looking forward to sharing our stories and catching up on all their news.

Two things I'd like to give you an update on, which are praise items:

- Judy, our classmate who was sent to Bangkok Hospital is doing well. The cellulitis was only in her tissue and did not go into her bones or her blood (which would have kept her in the hospital for 2-3 weeks). Incredibly, one of our Korean classmates (Chu Myong) who was unable to come on Outreach happened to be in Bangkok this past week, and he went to visit Judy.

And because he a doctor, he was able to talk to the medical team there, give Judy some reassurance, pray for her, and give us a credible update! What a blessing that was to all of us. Her son is flying from California to take her back on Sunday, so we will not see her again on this trip.

- The young boy I mentioned a while ago, who was apparently dying and whose mother refused to let his sister take him to the hospital in Phnom Penh because she is their only source of income has recovered! After 6 months of wasting away to just skin and bones and not able to walk, he is outside playing again! There is no other explanation for it than the healing power of prayer!

OH MY GOODNESS! I just had to go to the market for a moment, and here's something I saw on the way. That's our friend Narith helping fix a light at the restaurant next door. Note the ladder on top of a table! I told him just because he's now a Christian, it doesn't mean accidents won't happen to him!

So, I believe this will be the last post until I get to Kona for our debriefing on August 22. The journey God has sent me on continues, and I'm excited by what He has planned for the next few days!